HISTORY OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION I
LECTURE OUTLINE ONE
- PREHISTORY
- Emergence of villages
- Villages and trade
- Onset of warfare between villages
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- Emergence of cities (c. 3500-3200 B.C.)
- Differences between villages and cities--the role of "rulers" and the "ruled"
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- Cities in Mesopotamia
- MESOPOTAMIAN CIVILIZATIONS
- Sumerian Era (c. 3200-2000 B.C.)
- overview of Sumerian political history
- Mesopotamia's relationship with nature and the surrounding environment
- Mesopotamia as a "hydraulic society"
- Sumer's three precious gifts
- Sumerian religion (3 steps in its evolution)
- ziggurats and the reflection of social stratification in Sumer
- Sumerian economic decline
- Old Babylonian Era (c. 2000-1600 B.C.)
- Amorites' difference with Sumerians
- The Code of Hammurabi
- Old Babylonia and the development of personal religion
- Old Babylonia and mathematics
- Kassite and Hittite Era (c. 1600-1300 B.C.)
- decline of Old Babylonia
- misconceptions about the Hittites
- Hittites' derivative culture
- Assyrian Era (c. 1300-612 B.C.)
- development of the Assyrian Empire
- Assyrians' intellectual dependency upon Sumer and Old Babylonia
- Assyrians' frightfulness
- 612 BC--Assyria falls to a union of Babylonians and Medians
- New Babylonian Era (612-539 B.C.)
- Medes in Anatolia and Chaldeans in Mesopotamia
- role of astronomy and astrology in New Babylonia
- OVERVIEW OF THE ACHIEVEMENTS AND LEGACY OF MESOPOTAMIAN CIVILIZATION
- EGYPTIAN CIVILIZATION
- Archaic Period (c. 3100-2770 B.C.)
- unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under Narmer
- Old Kingdom (c. 2770-2200 B.C.)
- pharaohs' absolute power
- nonmilitaristic nature
- problems in the Old Kingdom
- 1st Intermediate Period (c. 2200-2050 B.C.)
- nobles rule in place of central authority
- Middle Kingdom (c. 2050-1786 B.C.)
- Golden Age and the invasion of the Hyksos
- 2nd Intermediate Period (c. 1786-1560 B.C.)
- New Kingdom (c. 1560-1087 B.C.)
- Egyptian Empire and the reason for aggressiveness
- the decline of Egypt
- EGYPTIAN RELIGION
- solar faith--Re (Amon)
- cult of Osiris
- thoughts of the hereafter and the development of an ethical religion
- synthesis of the solar faith and the cult of Osiris
- debasement of religion during the Empire
- reforms of Akhenaton and the characteristics of "qualified monotheism"
- Akhenaton's failure and the restoration of polytheism
- EGYPTIAN INTELLECTUAL ACHIEVEMENTS AND SCIENCE
- EGYPTIAN SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC LIFE
- class system
- role of women
- economics
- OVERVIEW OF EGYPTIAN LEGACY AND ACHIEVEMENTS